Arcane
by Le T.C
Summary: People aren't the only things Lilly Truscott can see. AU / LOLIVER
1. Chapter One

_People weren't the only things Lilly Truscott could see. AU. Loliver._

**Okay, juggling too many fics, but I left my TSC documents on my hard drive 200 miles away and I'm bored. D: So my newest creation. This is a Ghost Whisperer-esque fic, just for the record. ****This chapter is short D: I apologize in advance, but…there was just nothing more I could fit into it, at least from my point of view. But, being just your average, not-extremely-talented writer, I could very, very, very easily be wrong ;P News on TSC – tenth chapter near finished, for those who were waiting. As soon as I get home, Saturday morning or around, I will finish it, clean it up, and put it online! I actually enjoy critique, so please do tell me how I can improve! :) Oh, and just as a warning, my writing is crap when it comes to describing cars and the things they tend to do :P**

**Okay, last thing, seriously, just as a warning, this will probably be like crap cause it was written in the middle of the night. Me and my stupid insomnia.**

* * *

-

_well, you're magic he said,_  
_ but don't let it all go to your head,__  
well I bet if you all had it all figured out,  
then you'd never get out of bed._

-

Usually when Lilly woke up in the morning, she never set foot downstairs. At least, not for another hour until she got ready. Then she would pretty much just eat and leave.

But that morning, she woke up earlier than usual to a clattering of dishes and pots downstairs. As she sat up in bed, the first thing she ruled out was her little brother. His school started half an hour before she had woken up and unless he had suddenly fallen deathly ill with a runny nose like he had two weeks ago, he wouldn't be at home.

Her mother went with her brother, dropped him off, and then left for work. She wouldn't get home until seven at night, and unless Lilly had slept through the entire day that wouldn't be possible either.

So as she got out of bed, she tried to decide what could possibly have woken her up…six minutes early.

Of course her schedule had been completely out of whack lately. It was possibly from the events of earlier that week. A good blow to the head was enough to screw anyone's day up.

"Hello?" She called, venturing down her stairs. The only answer she got was a clay dish being thrown at her vicinity. She nearly tripped and broke her neck trying to avoid it as it shattered and the shards of the plate fell down the stairs onto the hardwood floor below. The same dizziness she had felt constantly for the last two days didn't help either, if not increasing.

She hesitated, still on the stairs, then continued cautiously to the feet of them to find an upset looking boy searching around her kitchen counters for something that was obviously important to him.

"_What are you doing_?" She very nearly hissed at him, though the curiosity in her voice didn't hesitate to show.

He faltered and his eyes darted over to her. As she looked at him she noticed a gaping hole in his black, baggy sweatshirt. It was stained red from that point down.

There was no speaking or any movement whatsoever for a few moments, and then the boy finally spoke. His voice was low and quiet, but with a dark, intimidating demeanor about it.

"I need it."

She stared at him. "What are you doing in my kitchen? I could call the police on you."

He broke into a sickening smile. "That wouldn't help. You would make everything worse."

Lilly stepped forward. "I see. Please explain," She prompted with a certain but cautious sound to her voice, but dripping with sarcasm at the same time.

"You'll be crazy," He said with another wide grin. A cabinet door flew open as if it was about to be ripped off of its hinges. He spun around and looked up into it, then turned away and continued to look around her countertops.

"Yeah? How's that?"

His smile vanished and he glared at her. He spoke at the same time, his voice low and angry. "I'm not here."

"Sure as hell you're not going to be," Lilly said icily. "Get out of my house before I call the cops."

He stopped searching and stared her in the eyes. He appeared to be very near another moodswing.

"No one can see me," He said quietly. "You shouldn't either."

"I think the fact that I'm not blind just might have something to do with that," Lilly replied angrily. "I swear I will either call the cops on you or shoot your brains out."

"It's too late," He muttered, and then suddenly he was a foot away from her and staring her in the face again.

"How?" Lilly inquired, though her voice was quiet now. Possibly from the disappearing and reappearing boy standing in front of her.

He dissapeared. Only the faintest trace of his voice was left, as if he was far behind her.

"It's too late."

* * *

_Lillian Rose Truscott_

_Seaview Medical Center - Arrived 3/10/09 Discharged 3/18/09_

_Grade three MTBI and minor injuries and bruising. MRI showed no internal damage._

_Expected symptoms - PCS involving headache and/or nausea, loss of motor coordination, balance, light sensitivity, and possibly tinnitus expected for approx. 1-4 weeks. Confusion, PTA, and loss of attentiveness also possible. Long term symptoms include a possible PTSD._

_Acetaminophen 500mg q.4h. until pain subsides or until unneccesary; 8+ hrs of sleep reccomended to hasten recovery. If symptoms worsten or loss of conciousness, convulsions, or new bleeding of the ears occurs, alert the hospital immediately._

_Stressful activities including extracurricular and sports intermurals could further damage the brain and endanger the patient. At-home recovery for 1 week+ is reccomended._

_Dr. Eric Thompson, MD Neurologist._


	2. Chapter Two

_Lilly Truscott was the victim of a hit and run that put her in a hospital for eight days and left her unconcious for six of them. Now, people aren't the only things Lilly Truscott can see and she has a feeling she knows why. AU. Loliver._

* * *

-

_good day sunlight  
i'd like to say how truly bright you are,  
you don't know me but i know you,  
you're my favorite star  
follow you i will,  
so lets get moving._

-

Lilly woke up around noon on the living room couch and wondered if she had been dreaming. But as she shifted a little she quickly eliminated that. Her foot still stung from where she had accidently stepped on a piece of broken pottery while cleaning up after the mysterious dissapearing boy.

She hoped that if he came again he would bring a broom, or at least some safety wear. It had taken almost an hour to clean everything up, and she still had to come up with an excuse for when her mother got home. The whole concussion-aided clutz thing would probably work but it didn't make it any less of a lie.

So when the doorbell rang she didn't think anything of it and thought it was probably some of the neighbors with cake or cupcakes or flowers or something, to make her house look way more friendly than it actually was.

But when she opened the door and looked outside to find him reclined in a lawn chair on her front lawn, she soon forgot about the cake and flowers.

"Hello Lillian!" He called out with another of his big, rather sick grins and an acknowledging wave of one hand. "How are you?"

Lilly folded her arms. "You mean after you tried to kill me?" She asked sarcastically. "Oh, I'm just peachy."

"A normal little girl would be scared," He said, the grin still on his face. Lilly decided it was probably a new record for the longest time (for him) without a moodswing. "Wouldn't you say?"

"A normal little girl wouldn't have had her brain jarred against her skull in the last two weeks, so I think that may have something to do with it," She retorted.

The boy shrugged his shoulders good-heartedly, as if being in too good of a mood to disagree. "True, true..."

And then he was directly next to her, coming up five or six inches above her head. "You have a very pretty neighborhood.'

She stepped away and stared at him. "How can you do that?" She demanded.

He blinked, as if taken by surprise. "Oh, well..." Stopping to consider it, he began, "I guess..."

And he was back on her front lawn, this time standing up. "I guess it just sort of _happens_!" He exclaimed.

She just shook her head. "What are you?" She asked, her voice considerably lower.

He appeared behind her and said softly into her ear, "A good samaritan."

"Do you have a _name_?!" She asked, her voice sarcastic again.

He stared at the floor, walked around her so that he was facing her, and told her, his voice low and almost sad.

"Not anymore."

And he was gone again.

* * *

After lunch and another nap it suddenly became five. Which was good for Lilly because it meant that her school would be out now and that meant that Miley would probably stop by and completely soak everything in her house in a sticky coat of bubbly almost-cheerleaderness. And she usually brought truckloads of candy everywhere she went. As she said, you can never be too prepared.

When she heard the first couple of knocks she had a feeling it was the nameless boy again, but once she heard the turning of a key in the lock and the front door opened up, she decided it was Miley.

"Isn't it nice I have friends who really _respect my privacy_?" She asked herself extremely loudly.

From the other room she heard a snort, and soon after Miley replied, "That's what you get for hiding the key under the doormat."

"My family is not known for being Einsteins," Lilly answered as Miley pretty much floated into her living room talking about school and proceeded to dump what seemed like fifty pounds of "things to do while she was at home" all over her coffee table. Then she tossed a chocolate bar at her and plopped down on the couch.

"So how are you?" Miley asked after a bite of her own chocolate bar.

"No, continue, I want to hear exactly how you ate your lunch today."

Miley gave her a playful glare. "I decided against eating it because I saw it move. Is that descriptive enough?"

Lilly rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. The good news is, I no longer feel like I'm going to pass out when I stand up." Which was true. She had nearly tripped walking through the front door the afternoon before.

"That's exciting."

There was silence for a bit. Lilly took a small bite out of her chocolate and then glanced at Miley, who was looking thoughtful about something.

"What is it?" She asked, curious. Knowing her best friend, it was something that was obviously stumping her.

Miley glanced at her and then answered in a quiet voice, "Well, I was thinking..." She trailed off and then continued, "Do you...do you like, remember it?"

Lilly blinked. "Well...not really," She answered after a moment. "I mean, I remember getting into the car to go home, but, after that..." She shook her head. "It's like it never happened."

"Well, that sucks," Miley decided loudly. "Whoever it was ended up near-totaling your SUV, right? And he drove off as soon as it happened."

Lilly nodded. "According to my mom, it's the classic, scandalous, hit and run case. But she's pretty eager to get it repaired. So that's a good thing."

Miley laughed. "If that happened to me, my dad wouldn't even let me _near_ a car until I left for college."

"It's just really weird, because...well, I guess I just don't think it's such a big deal because I don't remember any of it," Lilly confessed.

Miley shrugged. "I would feel the same way."

Lilly shook her head with a small laugh. "Apparently I was unconscious when they first found me, concsious when they put me in the ambulance, and then unconscious again by the time I was inside the hospital."

"You just couldn't make up your mind," Miley said with a large grin on her face.

They all laughed.

'They' including the nameless boy who suddenly appeared on the lounge chair beside Lilly.

* * *

**Thanks for the reviews :) I'm super excited because this is the fastest I've ever been able to put together a chapter. They usually have varying lengths though, depending on what I'm thinking about or the specifics of the plot. This is about average, if not a little below it. :D**


	3. Chapter Three

_After a head injury, people weren't the only things Lilly Truscott could see and she has a feeling she knows why. Especially because of the vanishing boy who keeps bothering her. AU. Loliver._

* * *

_-_

_i'm dreaming of sleeping next to you  
i'm feeling like a lost little boy in a brand new town  
i'm counting my sheep and each one that passes  
is another dream to ashes  
and they all fall down._

-

She suddenly became lightheaded as soon as she noticed him and quickly assumed it was the rising level of panic.

"Um, you know, Miley, I think I have 27 Dresses up in my room somewhere," Lilly said, trying to avoid stuttering too much at the pissed look the boy had. "Can you go look for it?"

"Why?" Miley asked happily without looking up. Lilly gave her a glare.

"Oh, I don't know, because we can _watch it_?" She said sarcastically.

Miley raised an eyebrow at her, but complied and left, taking her chocolate with her.

Once she was gone Lilly leaned backwards and took a deep breath. "It's a shame I don't actually own that movie," She said mostly to herself.

"Help me," The boy muttered quietly.

"I'd help if I _knew your name_," She retorted, her voice suddenly cold.

He didn't reply. She heard the loud crash and shattering of a broken plate from the kitchen and gave him a glare. "Thanks for that. Another broken plate to cut my foot off with."

"It's not important," He told her in a low voice. "I need your help."

"I need your name," Lilly responded automatically, folding her arms.

He rolled his eyes and sat back in the lounge chair without saying anything. After a few moments he said brightly, "We're all in such wonderful moods today, don't you think?" with a large, friendly grin.

Lilly didn't answer. Which probably wasn't a very good idea because then he was sitting right next to her, a little too close for comfort. _Great, _she thought bitterly. _I'm going to be raped by the vanishing boy._

"Do you know who I am?" He asked very quietly into her ear.

She gave him a hard glare. "No, seeing as you_ never actually told me your name_."

He stared at her with an unreadable look on his face, and then stated quietly, "I'm no one you would know."

Lilly stood up and spun around to face him angrily. "Look, all I want to know is who you are, _what_ you are, and why you keep _following me_ everywhere!" She stated loudly. "Are you going to sit and watch me sleep tonight, too?!"

It was then that she realized that may have been a little loud. One reason was because the room was now spinning and the probability of her tripping and cracking her skull open (again) was increasing rapidly, and another reason was because she heard Miley coming down the stairs.

She gave him a very pissed glare, which he replied to by giving her a big smile and vanishing again.

"Lils? Who were you shouting at?" Miley asked, looking just a little bit disturbed at the idea of her best friend talking to the couch. And possibly of the fact that she was standing up and glaring at it as if it had tried to eat her or something.

Lilly blinked and said almost immediately, "Uh, no one." Then she thought about it for a couple of seconds and stated almost nonchalantly, "Might have been because I _wasn't_ shouting." She hoped that Miley didn't think she was going crazy or something. Or catching it from the person who was glaring at the couch just a second ago.

She heard his voice in her ear. "You're not a very good liar Lillian." She spun around. This time he wasn't even showing his stupid, cowardly, vanishing, stupid face. It was just him being ... invisible ... and whispering into her ear.

"Um...are you...feeling okay?" Miley asked slowly as if talking to a mental patient. Which was understandable. Maybe she had that mental illness when you saw and heard things that weren't really there. Now all she needed was a space ship, a big strapping guy, and a knife.

"Yeah, uh, I'm fine. Just a little dizzy." That was a partial lie. If she tried to walk back over to the couch she would probably trip and do the whole skull-cracking-open-thing again.

"Sure...anyway, I got a couple of different DVDs but I couldn't find 27 Dresses," Miley said, apparently not wanting to think of her friend as insane in any way, even though it's unhealthy to live in denial.

"Shame," Came his voice again. If Miley hadn't been standing five feet away Lilly would have started cussing at the invisible boy who was talking into her ear.

"Oh, okay, well..." Lilly tried to keep herself focused. Somehow she knew that that stupid boy was screwing with her head because she was becoming increasingly dizzy. "Maybe...we should watch one of...those."

At that point she decided it was probably a good idea to sit down on the couch. Even though she almost "sat down" on the floor and ended up with another concussion. She made it to the couch but found no immediate relief from the feeling that the room was just part of one big tilt-a-whirl.

"Watching a movie?" He asked, next to her again. "Which one?"

Just as the light-headedness was beginning to dissipate he decided to show his stupid face again. "You know what, Miley," Lilly began. "I'm actually not feeling very well. Maybe you should go home."

Miley gave her a confused look. "But-"

Lilly cut her off, her voice sounding strained. "I think you better leave." And then she added in a bit of a less psycho-killer tone, "If I like die or something my mom will think it's your fault if you're here ... And I need a nap."

"But I thought you just-"

"Please, Miley," Lilly said again. Now her head was pounding as if someone had put a bomb in it. Who knows, maybe they did it while she was in the hospital. They probably could if they wanted to.

Miley gave her a suspicious look this time. "Fine, but I'm definately coming over tomorrow."

Lilly put on the biggest grin she could manage without her face snapping in two or her head exploding from the pressure. "I don't doubt that whatsoever. Goodbye!"

As soon as she heard the door slam shut she exhaled loudly and pretty much just collapsed on the couch. "You can come out now. That person, you know, the one who thinks I'm insane now, yeah, she's gone," She told no one in particular. Except for maybe the walls. The walls might have wanted to know that.

He appeared on the lounge chair again. "I can't control it," He stated quietly.

"What, nearly making me pass out? Oh, no, of course not, because a vanishing boy is definately not special whatsoever."

He didn't answer for a moment, but as soon as she glanced at him, he said very calmly, "Everything happens for a reason."

"What's your name?" Lilly knew it was rather blunt. And kind of jerkish to ignore him like that. But she really needed to know his name. She needed more than '_vanishing boy_' to yell at him with.

He hesitated, as if considering names in his head. Maybe he was going to lie to her and say he was Russian or Scottish or Martian or something. And the sad thing was, after all of the disappearing and appearing, she would probably believe him.

But then he said it, very quietly to her, and it was as if he was right next to her, whispering into her ear. But he said it and that was why she kept her mouth shut.

"Oliver Oken," He told her softly. "My name is Oliver Oken."

* * *

**:P Of course I was going to do that. It was so totally expected...well to me it was. After all, it IS a LOLIVER! Super kudos to anyone who caught my reference with the whole spaceship thing ;)**

**I promise to update TSC as soon as I have access to the computer I saved it on...because I'm just that intelligent and I don't have it anywhere else.**


	4. Chapter Four

_After a head injury, people aren't the only things Lilly Truscott can see._

* * *

-

_well, i suppose we'll all make our judgment call  
we'll walk it alone, stand up tall, then march to the fall  
so we better be happy now that we'll all go home._

-

Lilly found herself staring at a particularly interesting spot on the couch. To her dismay, the suddenly-named boy was gone again and all she had found out was his name.

"Oliver Oken," She whispered to herself. To her frustration she found it was subtly familiar but she didn't recognize him from anywhere recently. But as she considered it, she decided that her whole brain-bashing situation probably had made her ability to recognize people from before a little fuzzy.

The only reason she actually remembered Miley when she first woke up was probably because as soon as Miley had seen her awake for the first time, there had been a chorus of excited and worried screaming and jumping all around the room and bouncing off of the walls and questioning as to what had happened and also whispering not-so-quietly to her if she had been drunk, as if everyone _else _in the room had been temporarily deafened by her excited screeching before.

Lilly's mother hadn't taken to that possibility easily and began to scold Miley's father on Miley's actions, with Miley still blabbering excitedly about some lunch food or other that had randomly appeared on Amber Addison's face while she had been gone, and her father arguing angrily back at Lilly's mother with that oh-so-romantic and wonderful chemistry that had been decided a while back that they had with each other.

And that was when Lilly had announced that she really needed some painkiller. For some reason the entire room had gone silent then and for a split second Lilly wondered if her head had exploded or something.

That was also why she was finding her best friend increasingly annoying and sometimes a completely air-headed idiot, which for some reason had never occurred to her before she drove herself into a metal pole.

After deciding that the interesting spot on the couch which had been where Oliver was sitting only a few moments earlier was no longer as interesting as it was, Lilly stood up, ignoring the sudden dizziness and the temporary blackening of her surroundings, and proceeded to at least minimize the size of the truckload of "exciting things" that was sitting on her coffee table.

"Oliver," She said to herself, and repeated the name more than once. It was extremely frustrating and annoying that she could not remember if she actually _knew_ him or not. She contemplated this as she moved from the living room to the kitchen and began to clean up the plate that Oliver had delicately placed in millions of shards on the floor.

* * *

Lilly woke up slowly the next morning. The sun coming in from partly-parted blinds was devouring her bed in light, and Lilly didn't favor that very much. She began to regret even opening the blinds in the first place.

But then she realized she had never opened the blinds.

"Oliver!"

She shot up in bed and nearly passed out again, but managed to regain her composure. There was a pregnant pause as she stared at the boy who was sitting casually on the couch across from her bed.

Finally he put on a grin and responded, "Hello!"

She just stared at him. "Why the hell did you do that?"

"Do what?" He questioned, the blinds flicking shut behind him.

"Do that!"

"What?"

The blinds opened.

"_That!_"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

The blinds shut.

"This is pointless," Lilly declared angrily. "Why are you in my room?"

Oliver shrugged. "I'm lonely."

"Get a cat." Lilly got out of bed, still glaring at him. "I don't understand why you keep following me around everywhere."

"You will soon," He called after her as she headed to the bathroom, a grin still plastered on his face.

She ignored him, and continued to ignore him when she finally left her bathroom an hour later. She was a little grateful that he didn't pop up with that stupid smile on his face when she was in the shower.

What really bugged her was the fact that when she decided to leave the house on that particular sunny Saturday morning slash afternoon, he followed her again.

"Oliver," She stated slowly as she walked down the sidewalk.

"Yes Lillian?" He asked happily.

"Is this your weird, twisted idea of fate?"

He stopped walking and she had to turn around and face him.

"_What_?" He questioned, suddenly sounding rather confused.

"You know, the whole bugging me, following me around, making me look like an idiot in front of the people who were practically there when I had my head bashed against a steering wheel? Is this your idea of fate?"

He shook his head. "No," He began. "I'll tell you a secret, though." He lowered his voice as if someone else was listening.

"I want to help you, and I want you to help me," He stated quietly. "Please. I don't know why I'm here. I don't know why I'm here with you. All I know is, I'm supposed to help you, and you're supposed to help me."

Lilly stared at him. "So I'm...stuck with you until I help you with whatever the heck it is you need help with?"

"And me you."

Lilly rolled her eyes. "Great. And what is it exactly _you_ need help with?"

"I...don't know."

He grinned suddenly. "But, just think of me as a friend, until then. A friend that follows you everywhere."

Lilly blinked, then shook her head and turned away. "Whatever." She began to walk again but found herself frustrated at the fact that the boy who was being forced for some reason to follow her was following her.

But, she chose to ignore it, because she found herself taking interest in something else. "Has...it always been this crowded on this?" She questioned slowly, surprised at the many people she suddenly noticed walking around, almost aimlessly.

Oliver shrugged. "I dunno. I'm not the one who _lives here_," He stated as if Lilly was a completely airheaded idiot.

She spun around to glare at him, before turning back and walking up to a random person. "Hi," She said really loudly. "Do you live here?"

The guy blinked. "Yes," He stated blankly after a moment. "At least, I did."

Lilly tilted her head a little. "What do you mean...you did?"

At that moment someone proceeded to walk directly _through_ the guy she was talking to. Not around. _Through._ And that was why she found herself staring at the guy with her mouth wide open as if trying to catch flies, not only being talked to like a completely airheaded idiot, but probably looking like one as well.

The fact that the guy gave her a sick smile and then disappeared into thin air - well, that didn't help either.

* * *

_Most of the story is planned out. No fretting over which relationship to choose, the ending, the tragic climax... :) Just want to let you know that it's all either written down, mapped out in my head, or a combination of the two._

_ALSO! As it appears not only in the summary but it's already being implied here, this story is a definite Loliver. BUT! There may be some very short and unsuccessful..._

_LAKE?! (GASP. WHAT TREACHERY IS THIS?!)  
_


	5. Chapter Five

**_After a head injury, people aren't the only things Lilly Truscott can see._**

* * *

-

_he's building up a shine but he takes it slow  
and he knows its time to make a change here  
and time to get away  
and he knows its time for all the wrong reasons  
and time to end the pain  
but we sleep all day over again  
why don't we?_

-

* * *

_When Lilly first woke up, along with the whole drunk thing and the arguing in her hospital room, it was almost humorous that she was rather confused as to why her head hurt like crap to begin with and why she was even in a hospital. Everyone suddenly shut up and she felt very stupid for asking what had happened and why she was in a hospital, of which she did not enjoy being in at all._

_"You mean you don't __remember?!" Miley had very nearly shrieked into her ear._

_She backed off a moment later with the death glare Lilly was giving her._

_"Well, honey," Heather Truscott had explained that sickeningly sweet voice of hers, "You...were in a car accident."_

_The confused look Lilly was giving her didn't change, if not becoming more confused._

_"Lilly?" Robbie Ray, now calmed down and sitting in a chair opposite her bed, said. "You were in a car accident. A week ago. You've been unconscious for the last six days."_

_Well. That pretty much cleared everything up. But that didn't stop the idiotic and slightly slurred, "What?" that left her mouth before she even had a thought to stop it._

_"You swerved when this guy pulled out in front of you," Miley explained rather quickly. For a brief second Lilly not only questioned her sanity but wondered if maybe _'someone'_ had found the coffee machine. "You were going pretty quickly, and when you swerved, you drove into a metal pole. It pretty much crushed your car, from what I heard. But, then again, I only heard about the car accident, so for all we know it may have been different, you may have ran into the pole yourself. But, I guess no one knows but the police who are good at that kind of stuff."_

_'Definitely not decaf.' - that was the next thought Lilly had, watching her friend explain why she had been unconscious for the last week. And so she said the above statement out loud, mainly on accident. Who knew what the hospital was jetting into her bloodstream._

"What?" _was Miley's immediate, confused response._

* * *

The guy, maybe her age if not older, reappeared a split second later behind her and she spun around. "Who - no ... _what_ are you?" Lilly managed to get out, the look of pure disbelief on her face probably still looking extremely ridiculous.

He shrugged, a sly grin still on his face. "Same as you two," He said with a gesture to both Lilly and Oliver.

It was then that, almost suddenly, she found herself staring at a teenager with an enormous gunshot wound to his right temple.

"Oh my God," Lilly said, her voice surprisingly quiet. "You..."

He put on an even larger grin, if that was possible. "I what?"

"But - how - why -" Lilly began, her stuttering almost humorous. She was cut off by the guy.

"Like I said, dearie, same as you and him, right?"

When she didn't reply, he blinked. "Wait...how did you..." He trailed off, looking over her. "You look perfectly fine to me."

She spun around to face Oliver, the color fading from her face. "_Oliver, am I dead_?!" She near-hysterically whispered to him.

When he shook his head rapidly, she spun back around. "That...that's because I am fine...I think..." she whispered weakly in response.

The guy blinked at her. "Wait...you..." After a moment he backed up. "You can see me." When she didn't say anything he just gave her a bewildered look. "You're alive...but you can see me."

She shook her head. "Oh God. Oh God," She began to state repeatedly, spinning around to look at Oliver again. "Oliver...Oliver, you're...dead...aren't you?"

And then, oh yes, then, as if Lilly's life hadn't become complicated enough, her peripheral vision suddenly deteriorated and the central ischaemic response took over.

She hit the ground a second later.

* * *

_Haha, you know, it's the strangest thing. I actually write _better_ at 3 in the morning. oo_ _apologizing for chapter shortness. i just needed this cliffhanger :) it's pure gold, right? i WILL update soon because i can't just stop_ _writing after a cliffhanger like this!_

:D


	6. Chapter Six

_After a head injury, people aren't the only things Lilly Truscott can see._

**ugh. i'm so mad right now. but i wont go into details.**

**...**

**ok, so usually i do my own laundry, and yesterday my brother did a load of my clothes. including the jacket i had my phone in.**

**D:**

**you can probably guess what happened. so now my dad's making me take it apart (which i have no idea how to do) and let it dry before we even talk about the insurance they put on me and my brother's phones_ last week. _it'll cost 50 dollars to replace it, so... :X**

**anyway. enough about my problems. let's read about lilly truscott's.**

* * *

-

_you.  
you were a friend.  
you were a friend of mine,  
i let you spend the night  
you see how it was my fault.  
of course it was mine.  
i'm too hard at work  
have you ever heard of anything so absurd ever in your life?  
i'm sorry for wasting your time._

-

"Lillian!"

The annoying, rather sing-song calling of her name was repeating.

As soon as she was capable of thinking complicated enough thoughts to realize that, she rolled over and mumbled something incoherently but showed no other signs of intelligence.

"Should have woken up earlier," Came his non-pitying voice. "Someone knocked on the door. They had cake."

She groaned.

"Oh stop it, Lillian."

Again. Non-pitying.

"Just wait, then?" He demanded. The way she was laying, to any normal person she'd look dead. But of course.

He was no normal person.

She rolled over again after a few moments and finally noticed Oliver watching her from across the room. And then she began to wonder where she was and why.

"Oliver," She said slowly, proving that she _was_ capable of actually speaking. "Why am I in my living room?"

He gave her an apologetic shrug. "Because you passed out on the sidewalk?"

Lilly shot up, her eyes wide as she stared at Oliver almost questioningly. "What..." she started.

"Okay, listen, if you pass out again, I am not helping you this time," He warned, interrupting her, although appearing a little concerned at the bewildered and confused look Lilly suddenly had on her face.

"Oliver, you're dead," She said, looking a little bit stumped and a little bit traumatized.

He shrugged again. "That's not news to me."

She shook her head. "But...if you're dead...why..." She trailed off and didn't speak for a moment.

He stood up and joined her on her living room couch. "Lilly," He said quietly, and she realized that must have been like the first time he hadn't called her 'Lillian'. "You..." He began, but hesitated suddenly.

"What?" Lilly asked, sitting up fully.

"You can see ghosts."

That shut her up.

There was a tense moment of silence.

"You have got to be kidding me," was the first thing she said.

The second thing she said was, "There is no way on this planet that I can see ghosts."

And the third thing she said, after trailing off and seeming to remember that she was talking to a dead boy, was "Oh God. I think you're right."

Oliver gave an apologetic shrug as she got up and attempted to ignore the blood rushing to her head. She began to pace as she often did.

"So...you're dead...but..." She trailed off again. "Why are you _here_ if you're dead?"

Oliver shrugged again. "Dunno," was his answer, appearing on the lounge chair again.

"What time is it?" Lilly asked suddenly, spinning around and stopping her tense pacing to stare at Oliver.

"Four thirty-two and fifty-seven seconds," Oliver responded absentmindedly.

"Christopher will be home soon," She said, mostly to herself. "And if I'm not on my 'best behavior', mom will hear about it." She paused and looked back at Oliver. "You too. No making me look stupid in front of the people who are paying for my car."

He grinned. "Won't be my fault. Not to them."

She glared at him. "Yeah, well it will be to me. And you have that thing you need my help for, remember?"

The grin vanished.

He muttered something under his breath, and soon his grin wasn't the only thing that was gone.

Lilly glanced around, as if waiting for him to pop up out of no where again. But when that never happened, she just blinked and left the room.

* * *

The doorbell rang.

"It's open!" Lilly called from the kitchen setting down her sandwich.

There was an agitated jiggling of the doorknob, then the doorbell rang again.

"Nevermind," She added, standing up and walking to the door.

As soon as she opened it she was pulled out of her house.

She let out a shriek of protest as a hand slapped over her mouth and another wrapped around her stomach.

"Shh," A voice whispered into her ear after a moment. "It's just me."

She turned around slowly, the hand lifting from her mouth, and found herself plastering a fake smile on her face.

"Look, it's...Lucas..." She trailed off, mainly for lack of anything to say. She was feeling confused. Not so sure how she looked.

"What, no hug?" He questioned, almost puzzled. She gave him a look that made it seem like she had any idea what was going on, then embraced him.

"Wow, you actually thought before you hugged me," Lucas said, looking down on her. "You really must have hit your head hard."

She put on her serious face and responded, "You have no idea."

He laughed, and pulled away from her. "I've been worried."

"From what I've heard, you're not the only one," Lilly said in a way that _should _have come with a lopsided, sarcastic smirk.

"Come inside. I have food."

Lucas grinned. "Good. I'm starved."

Two minutes later and they were both on the couch, sharing a bag of chips.

"So, what have I missed so far at school?"

Lucas shrugged. "It's been insane. Everyone's asking me what happened, and frankly, I haven't even heard a version of what happened that makes _sense_, even from Miley."

Lilly shook her head with a laugh. "That's probably true."

He turned to face her. "So...what really happened?"

She didn't want to go into extreme details, so she shrugged in a similar fashion to him and answered after a split second's hesitation, "I was in a car accident."

Lucas gave her a look. "I know that much by now. What _really, really_ happened?"

Lilly sighed. "I swerved when this guy pulled out in front of me, and I hit a telephone pole. Not that big of a deal."

"But people are saying you were in the _hospital _for a week. That's a big deal."

She shrugged again. "I just hit my head."

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that much I've established."

She glanced at him. "What did Miley tell you?"

Lucas blinked. "The usual Miley stuff, you were hit in the side by a military hummer, rolled down a hill, and hit a telephone pole. Oh, and you were in a life-threatening coma all last week." He laughed. "Crazy right?"

She laughed with him for a minute then said, "Not so much."

He looked at her. "What?"

"The last part is sort of true."

He stared at her. "Oh. Well, sorry, I guess. It just sounded so absurd...and Miley said it..."

"Be quiet. I forgive you," She said with another of her fake smiles.

"Really?" He said, with a half-smile.

Lilly had just thought of Oliver and how grateful she was that he wasn't intruding on her personal business when he appeared. On the lounge chair. Again.

She did her best to ignore him until she felt him whispering into her ear. That was when she turned around to look at him sitting in a chair behind her.

_"He waits for the right moment."_

He gave her a look, and vanished.

And suddenly it was black, and she was falling.

And then they were falling together.


	7. Chapter Seven

_After a head injury, people aren't the only thing Lilly Truscott can see._

**Ok, this chapter may be a tad too confusing. I wrote it late at night, and although I usually write better then, a cat was shoving itself onto my face. Sort of.**

**Nevermind. Let's continue.**

* * *

_--_

_was it you who spoke the words that  
things would happen but not to me  
oh, things are gonna happen naturally  
and taking your advice  
i'm looking on the bright side  
and balancing the whole thing  
but often times those words  
get tangled up in lines  
and the bright lights turn to night  
until the dawn it brings  
a little bird who'll sing about the magic that was  
you and me_

_--_

_She's in a home._

_She's not the only one - boys with dates, broken bottles by their feet. Heartbroken girls running past them and out of the house. Most everyone's breath smelling of liquor._

_She's there, but she's not. She sees, but it is in no way her body. Or her voice._

_She's thinking his thoughts. She's seeing what he sees. She's feeling what he feels._

_He feels drunk._

_His thoughts are foggy and he has a slur in his voice as he teases the guy he's talking with._

_It's Lucas, she realizes. He's talking to Lucas._

_A can in one hand, the other poking Lucas almost threateningly._

_"S'what if I do?" He demands, his voice slurring again._

_Lucas shakes his head with a sick grin. "Trust me. You do not want to." Even from two feet away the beer on his breath is strong, although his words are clear._

_"What if I do, tough guy?" He asks again, this time emotion - anger? - in his voice. "What are you gunna do now?"_

_Lucas laughs. "If you do, I'll hit you halfway to hell. How does that sound?"_

_"Only if I can do it first."_

_Suddenly there are drunken punches being thrown. Yelling, cursing._

_A glass cabinet shatters._

_More fighting._

_The prized possession is taken from its shattered home, loaded, and fired._

_Then she's falling with him._

_Pain; he can feel the wound and he can see the blood, but he can't comprehend._

_Fifteen minutes._

_He's screaming now. The blood is pooling, they're just letting them lay there. She screams with him. _

_They hurt together._

_They are worried and scared and drunk, not just them, but the growing crowd around them._

_He's quiet now. He just lays there. She lays with him because that's all she can do__. They don't know what's happening. Everyone's blurry around them._

_People are whispering._

_He's pale._ _They both are._

_The blood is getting all over the carpet, they're saying. It's definitely going to stain. There's a whole lot of glass on the floor. Joseph is going to be grounded for life for throwing a party like this._

_He's conscious, but barely, as they hear the sirens and the shouting. Even that fades and they're sitting in the black together, confused, hurting._

_But then it's bright. For a split second they see together, then it's black once more._

_He does not see. He does not feel._

_She does the same._

* * *

Lilly woke with a scream and a cold sweat.

"Oh my God," She whispered to herself, running a hand through her hair. She was partially relieved to find that it was actually her hair.

_Was it just a nightmare?_

She was on her couch. A blanket pulled over her, some unused painkiller lying on the coffee table.

The digital clock on the wall stated in a large, blinking red font: 2:47 AM

Lilly sighed and laid her head back on the throw pillow. Her mom and her brother were probably home. After a second she sat up again.

It was then she realized that it had been three thirty in the afternoon when she last recalled...well, actually being conscious.

And that was when she hopped off of the living room couch and grabbed her phone.

This had to be her absolute last resort. And she was wasting it now. Although it probably wouldn't be much use.

She dialed the number and pressed it to her ear. After a few moments she heard the click.

"Miley!"

"Lilly...it's, um, three in the morning. On a school night. What do you want?"

Miley was never too friendly when she was tired. Or able to speak clearly. As opposed to the 'definately not sugar' high she was usually able to pull off.

"I don't know, it's just...ugh. I'm so confused right now and I don't know what happened and I can't remember anything..."

There was silence.

"Miley?" Lilly said after a moment.

"Were you drunk?" Was her reply, a little more awake-sounding than before.

Lilly would have given her a glare if it had been possible. "No. Of course not. I just don't know what happened...I was talking with Lucas this afternoon, and then all of a sudden I woke up on my couch just a few minutes ago!"

"Hmm, you better check on everything, make sure _your business_ stayed _your business _if you know what I mean."

There was a tense silence.

"Lucas wouldn't do that Miley. Don't be stupid," Lilly struggled to say. What she really, really wanted to say was way too colorful for someone like Miley to be hearing at three in the morning.

Though at this point she probably wouldn't care.

"Hey, I'm just saying!"

"Uh-huh."

"It's possible. Don't you remember what he did to you in ninth grade?"

"He dated seven different girls at once. He didn't rape me."

"It's the same idea!"

"No it's not! He apologized like a million times. And it was the beginning of ninth grade. He was an idiot then."

"When you forgave him, you two made out in a closet the entire rest of the day."

Silence.

"How do you know it didn't happen?" Miley prompted.

There was an awkward pause.

"He didn't put anything into my drink."

Another pause.

"Well…what about your food?!"

Lilly thought back. Probably not.

"That's impossible Miley, I didn't even eat anything. He inhaled the only bag of chips I had. Lucas didn't rape me, okay?"

"Did you check?!"

"Miley!"

"Okay, sorry! What do you want me to tell you?"

"I don't know!"

"This conversation is so totally going no where."

"Then let's hang up!"

"Fine!"

_Click._

Lilly collapsed back onto the couch and held her head. She was in a fight with Miley now...about Lucas raping her?

Her life was oh so fascinating.

Even more so as Oliver appeared next to her.

"Headache?" He asked with that grin of his.

That one that proved he knew something.


	8. Chapter Eight

**I know you all probably hate to hear about my personal life two chapters in a row. D:**

**But, good news is, my new phone will be here tomorrow, and it was only fifty dollars.**

**Keeping in mind the actual value of the phone is a little over two hundred and fifty dollars.**

**:)**

**Oh, and btw...**

** loliver :DDDDDD  
**

* * *

--

_may i suggest you get the best  
of your wish may i insist  
that no contest for  
little you or smaller i  
a larger chance happened,  
all them they lie  
on the rise,  
on the brink of our lives_

--

_You would never talk to a complete stranger about your personal life._

_That is, unless they were blackmailing you or threatening to bash your brains out with a hunk of wood__. You'd probably feel if not just a little safer complying with what they wanted._

_'Your personal life' included anything from what time you got in the shower this morning, what shampoo you used, what color your towel was, to even whether or not you washed, rinsed, and repeated._

_'Your personal life' would probably also include the fact that you had bashed your head against a steering wheel a week ago and had just this morning woken up from a brain trauma-induced coma. _

_Okay, so Lilly hadn't been talking to complete strangers about her personal life. But they were probably figuring it out on their own, from the way she looked and the fact she looked about as alert as a piece of roadkill._

_The day after she woke up, as soon as her mother had brought some decent clothes for her to wear, she had changed, and they stuck her in a wheelchair and shoved her into an elevator to leave the hospital._

_Now, Lilly Truscott hates elevators._

_That just showed how out of it she was, because she didn't say one word or give her parents a pitiful, annoyed, or even slightly agitated look as they waited for it to get to the first floor._

_And Christopher, oh sweet, loving, caring Christopher who had convinced mother to let him stay home from school to take care of his big sister._

_Turns out that sweet, loving, caring Christopher just wanted to stop by the candy shop that was conveniently located en route to their house._

_And their mother let him go in and spend twenty dollars buying green-colored liquid sugar to inject into his mouth._

_At that point Lilly was looking out the window, not only trying not to vomit from the nausea, but feeling light-headed, out of it, and ready to crawl into her bed._

_And people were staring at her through her car window as she waited in the parking lot._

_She looked like a mess. They probably didn't care what comatose patients looked like in a hospital. If you had spray-painted your hair, or shoved your face into a watermelon, or jumped into a tar pit, when you left the hospital, chances are you wouldn't exactly be looking 'stunning'. At this point she knew it would be a pain to even attempt to get a brush through that thing on her head that she was disgusted to call her hair.  
_

_As soon as they got home, the first thing she did was stumble out of the car, with no help from either Christopher, greedily eating a tube of who-the-hell-knows-what, or her mother, who just gave her words of encouragement that in no way actually aided her ability to walk._

_And as soon as she reached her room, after tripping up the stairs, she dive-bombed onto her bed, but soon regretted it as the nausea and dizziness returned. And to her dismay, according to the doctor, it wouldn't leave for a good long while - 'until her head was all fixed up'._

_Lilly Truscott hated hospitals, elevators, her mother, her brother, non-matching socks, and Miley Stewart. She did then._

_And she still does now._

* * *

"Oliver!" She exclaimed through her teeth, with that smile she usually gave to people before she beat them with something.

"Lillian!" He exclaimed in reply, giving her a hesitant look. "Did I do something?"

She folded her arms and the tense grin turned into an angry scowl. "That just tells me that you _did_ do something."

"What?"

"The fact that you asked whether or not you did anything!"

"But I didn't do anything!"

"Exactly!"

"Did you hit your head again?"

Silence. Lilly wondered if she was the only one.

"No, Oliver, I did not."

"Really? You sure? Maybe you need to you know, go get your head checked again."

"Oliver, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Because, you know, sometimes, when you hit your head, you imagine that you're seeing and hearing things."

She glared at him and turned away.

"That hurt."

"Lillian, how do you know that I'm not just a figment of your imagination? A hallucination, if you will?"

She stopped folding the throw blanket, pausing, then turned around to look at him with a completely different expression on her face.

"Because," She said, almost in an upset tone of voice.

"Because why?" He asked curiously in that sing-song way of his.

She resumed folding the blanket and set it back on the couch.

"I just know you're real. It's this feeling," She explained slowly.

"What feeling?" Oliver pried with a grin.

"You know what, forget it," Lilly said, angry again. "If you want to believe you're a hallucination, fine by me. If you want to believe that you only exist because of me and still act so egotistic, go_ right ahead_."

When he didn't respond, she glared up at him. "If you're so great and mighty, why don't you take care of that stupid problem of yours by yourself?" She turned back around.

Right then, a couple of things happened at once.

Oliver appeared directly behind her.

"I can't," He whispered into her ear.

Her breath caught in her throat.

And she decided there was no possible way that he was a figment of her imagination.

She struggled to speak, and when that didn't work out she turned around slowly and looked up at him. He was way _too_ real. His eyes, and his dark hair. That 'purely business' face he had put on but failed to keep on.

She caught herself before she moved on to something other than his head, and mentally beat herself over _her_ head with a frying pan.

She was fantasizing over a hallucination, as he put it. She tried to keep that in mind as she looked up at him, her eyes locked with his. Neither one so much as flinched.

All of a sudden she remembered why she was in this position in the first place. To help him. With whatever it was he needed help with.

She had to ask him. It was the only way to make any sort of progress.

"How did you die?" She whispered.

It took a second before she realized he had vanished, an almost angry look on his face.

It took another second before she figured out what was suddenly tearing a gaping hole in her heart.

Lilly Truscott was falling for Oliver Oken, the only guy who could really vanish from her life in the blink of an eye.

And she was not regretting it.


	9. Chapter Nine

**I think you'll find that Lilly and Miley have switched roles concerning their relationships with Jake Ryan in season one. :P**

**Oh yeah, my Lake plans didn't work out, lucky for you all :D**

* * *

_--_

_I bare my windowed self untamed and untrained  
Dreams that hardly touch our complexions truest faults  
If room enough for both my drowsy spirit shall fall  
Bold waves tumble oh to the season of my heart  
And you have offended my faith and my trust  
Until all is lost into the beauty of the day  
Until all is lost,  
Until all is lost._

--

"I'm so happy you could come!" Miley slash Hannah Montana shrieked into Lilly slash Lola Luftnagle's ear.

"Yeah, well, I was getting tired of staying at home all day," She responded, shrugging, as they entered the part. Trying to regain her hearing.

"I heard Jake was going to be here," Miley said, wiggling her eyebrows.

Lola rolled her eyes. "Eh. I don't know if I want to see any more of that egotistic idiot."

Hannah gasped, a hand to her mouth. "How could you talk about him like that? He's so smart, and attractive, and funny, and attractive..."

Lola didn't even flinch when she heard Oliver complain from behind her. "Shut her up, please. It hurts my ears."

"Yeah, he's attractive, I get it Hannah." And with that, Lola proceeded to abandon her 'best friend' and walk quickly in the opposite direction.

"That was pretty fantastic."

Lola rolled her eyes. "Not that hard to get away from an airhead like her."

"Yep. Is that..." He trailed off, looking in the direction of a certain smart, attractive, egotistic, funny, idiotic boy who was grinning at everyone.

"Oh, that's just the stupid guy she's obsessing over."

"That's Jake Ryan?"

"The one and only."

He raised his lip in disgust. "He's not even that attractive. And what's that on his face?"

Lola blinked. "...No one knows. Look away, so he doesn't see me staring at him."

"He won't see _me_ staring at him."

"Yeah, well, he'll see me, and I don't really want to be caught staring at someone like him, so..."

"He's looking over here."

She glanced back at her ghost companion just in time to see Carrie Underwood walk directly through him. "That's fascinating. I'll just ignore him."

"He's coming over here."

"You're ly-"

"Hey!" Jake Ryan said in a friendly manner.

Lola's eyes widened and she glanced up at him and grinned. "Hey!" She responded, the plastered smile on her face not wavering once.

He grinned at her as well. "Hey, do you think maybe we could talk somewhere..." His eyes flitted momentarily to look at something that wasn't Lola, but he continued, "somewhere private?"

She blinked. _Great. Sir Ego wants to talk with me. _"Sure, Jake!" She said with the same grin.

"All right, cool. Follow me." He began to lead her through celebrities that ordinarily she would have obsessed over.

As soon as they got to a room, Jake shut the door and turned to face her.

"Uh, I don't know how to tell you this..." He trailed off and for a second he seemed to be looking directly at Oliver, "And if I do, you probably won't believe me..."

Oliver leaned in and whispered into Lilly's ear with a raised eyebrow, "Tell him to hurry up or leave you alone."

She ignored him for the most part, but shoved her elbow through him in a futile attempt to make him stop talking to her.

"Wait...you can see him?" Jake asked, looking confused at the way she was treating the apparition behind her.

She froze up, the smile gone, and responded stiffly, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Oliver whispered something else into her ear and this time she spun around. "No!" She exclaimed abruptly. "Now you're just being stupid!"

"You can too see him!" Jake yelled.

She turned around slowly, her cheeks slightly pink. "No I can't."

"Yes you can!" Jake responded.

"Leave her alone!" Oliver shouted.

It was quiet. "You shut up," Lola told Oliver, glaring at him. "And you - " She threw a look at Jake. " - tell me what the hell you're talking about."

He shrugged. "I see ghosts," He said simply.

Lola glared at him. "We established that."

"Well...okay, I've been able to do it since I was little." With another shrug, he stated, "It's just what I do."

She glared at Oliver. "I'm glad that I'm not the only one who's followed around by people like _him_."

"You're treating me like I'm a criminal," Oliver objected angrily.

"That's because you are one! You vandalized my house!"

Oliver glared at her, then suddenly spun around to face Jake. "This is not funny," He said bitterly.

"I didn't say anything!" Jake said in defense.

"Yeah, well, you don't have to say anything for me to know it."

"Stop it Oliver!"

He glared at her. "Do you know what he wants to do with you?!"

Jake stared at her, eyes wide. "H-He's a liar!"

Oliver grinned sickeningly at him, then said to Lola, "He finds the fact that you see ghosts attractive."

Jake set his jaw angrily.

"Sick mind," Oliver said quietly, a smirk on his face.

Lola stared at Jake. "So," She said. "What were you planning on doing after all of this? Find a bed?"

Jake shook his head. "No!"

"He's lying," Oliver said immediately, with a grin on his face.

Lola just watched them argue.

"Hey, you need to back off," Jake threatened.

Oliver raised his eyebrow again. "Or what, you'll lower my IQ?"

"You'd best shut your mouth right now before I shut it for you," Jake growled.

Oliver stared at him. "You know just as well as I do that _you can't do that_," He sneered.

"Yeah, well -"

In a split second Oliver was staring him down, inches from his face. "Get out."

Jake didn't move. "Make me."

The door flew open behind him, slamming against the wall.

They held the glare for a moment, then Jake shook his head, turned, and left.

"Oliver!" Lola yelled once he was gone. "Why'd you do that?"

He shrugged. "Uh, because he deserved it."

She shook her head. "He just wanted to help," She stated angrily, leaving the room.

Her mood only slightly changed when she got a text from Lucas.

_hey babe._

_fishing down at the lake 2morow?_

_we'll meet at the shell down by the school around 11 and head 2 th lake once every1s there._

_me my bro and his friend will be w/ us._

_sound like a plan?_

She grinned.

_Sounds like a plan 2 me._

_c u there._


	10. Chapter Ten

**:D Hello. oh...just for the record...a lot of important stuff happens this chapter.**

**;)**

* * *

_--  
_

_And when the coyotes they sing at the park,  
Till the city lights starts falling  
Ride them rodes they winding down till the flame hits the ground  
Every motion is closer to touching the coyotes,  
Sing when they call in the middle of it._

_--_

"Lillian."

"Oliver, what is it now?" Lilly demanded, not even having to turn around to know it was him. She felt pretty lucky she was the only one outside at the moment.

"I need to talk to you," He whispered.

It took a second of comprehension before Lilly spun around to face him, but by then, he was gone.

She sighed and returned to what she was doing.

"Lilly!"

She looked up immediately at the sound of her name being called again, but was disappointed and rather embarrassed to find it was only Lucas.

"Yeah?" She said, hopping out of the truckbed.

"We ready?"

She glanced back at the truck, putting Oliver out of her mind if not for just a moment. "Tied down the tackle box and the rods. I think we're good."

Lucas gave her a look. "How old are those bungee cords?" He asked suspiciously.

She smirked. "Oh, they were my great grandfather's. But don't worry, they'll hold up just fine..." She glanced at him and went around to the front of the truck. "As long as they're not being used."

"Ha ha, very funny," Lucas told her. "I can't afford to lose those rods. They're my dad's best ones."

"Don't worry about it," She scolded him. "You worry too much. And besides, they're not _my _expensive rods. If something happens it's still your fault."

Just then there was a whole lot of yelling from by the gas station. "Lucas, get over here! We need some money!"

"Uh, Lilly?"

She quickly gave Lucas a look. "Go ahead."

He grinned apologetically at her, then began to jog to the gas station. "Coming! Hold on!"

She rolled her eyes in exasperation and leaned up against the truck to wait for Lucas.

"You know, Oliver, it would be a lot more helpful if you would just talk to me," She said, acknowledging the breath on the back of her neck.

When he didn't speak she sighed and checked the rods again.

"Hey Lils, do you think you could stay in the back?"

Lilly looked up to see Lucas returning.

"Yeah, sure. Why? Your passenger seat too clean for me?" She asked playfully.

He shook his head, "Uh, you don't get it. Not the rear seats. I need you to stay in the bed with the stuff."

She gave him a look. "Why do you not believe me when I tell you those cords will hold up fine?"

"Those rods were expensive! Please? It's a ten minute drive, and no one will see us. My dad will seriously decapitate me if something happens to them!"

She soon found herself feeling almost the same with Lucas as she was whenever she was with Miley, but sighed and complied anyway. "Fine, but you owe me."

He grinned and kissed her. "Will that do?" He asked.

She suddenly remembered how good of a kisser Lucas Matthews was.

"Maybe just a little."

After a few minutes Lucas's brother and his friend came out of the gas station with grins and multiple packs of Marlboro.

"You two owe me," Lucas said, pointing fingers at both of them. "With tax."

His brother raised his hands. "Hey, not complaining. Is the lighter in the glovebox?"

"You can check."

Lilly blinked and looked at him curiously. "This is your truck, isn't it?" She asked.

"Well, yeah, but my brother uses it way too often for there not to be a lighter in it."

She gave him another look. "I'm not sure I believe you, but," She sighed theatrically. "It's your life, not mine."

Lucas blinked. "I don't! I swear!" He told her, almost panicked. She laughed and rolled her eyes.

"All right, all right, fine. I believe you," She said, though she thought otherwise.

"So are we ready?"

"Yep, we can leave for real now."

"Good. We have to hurry though, if we want any luck today."

"I agree."

He glanced at her as he moved around to the driver's side. "Will you be fine back there?" He asked, blinking.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't worry about it. If necessary I'll make use of those extra bungee cords."

He laughed and opened the door. "Good."

She closed the truckbed door and hopped over the side.

Lucas rolled down the window and called, "We ready?" Just as his brother climbed into the backseat.

Lilly gave a thumbs up and a gigantic grin, and they were off.

* * *

"Lillian."

"Well, welcome back. Wanted to talk?" She had to raise her voice to even hear herself over the wind, but she looked up from where she was sitting facing the rear and grinned much like Oliver _would_ do but was not doing at the time.

He glared at her. "Stand up."

"Why?! They'll think I'm insane!"

"Too late." He gave a small smirk.

She rolled her eyes and stood up.

Almost immediately she heard Lucas. "Lils, what you doing?!" His voice was raised to a shout as he called out the open window.

"Just stretching," She yelled back.

"Well, stay out of the way of my mirror! No offense, but I can't see through you!"

She grinned good-naturedly. "Sure thing," She called back.

"So, what's up with you?" She asked Oliver with a smirk after moving to one side of the truck.

"I need to talk to you," He told her. Although she had to raise her voice just enough to hear herself without Lucas questioning her, he could speak as quietly as possible and she could hear it just as if he was screaming it into her ear.

"Well, yeah, I established that."

"Are you mad at me?" He asked quietly.

She blinked. "Well, no, but you were acting pretty stupid yesterday."

"You should be mad at me."

"But I'm not."

"But you should be."

"So you want me to be mad at you?"

"I deserve it."

She shook her head. "You do not."

"Lilly," He said.

"You don't."

"Lilly."

"I already said that you don't deserve it."

"Lilly!"

He raised his voice this time. She blinked, and it was silent for a few seconds.

"I was at a party," He said.

"Oliver, what are you talking about..."

"I was at a party, and I got into a fight," He elaborated softly.

She stared at him. "That's..."

"I died." He said blankly.

"How do you die from a fight?" She demanded. She hoped she wasn't the only one who was getting panicked.

"When there's a gun involved."

She stared at him, then to the wound in his chest. "That's..."

"He shot me, Lilly," He whispered.

"What were you fighting over?!" She asked him roughly, stepping forward to the point where she was only a few inches away from him.

"A girl."

"That's such a stupid thing to fight over," She said, her voice rising, shaking her head.

"You're angry now."

"The hell I am! You _died_ over a girl?!"

He moved around so that he was facing the rear and she was nearly backed up to the truckbed door.

"Not just any girl," He whispered.

"'_Not just any girl,_'" She repeated, staring at him angrily. "So this girl was special, huh?"

"Yes."

She couldn't help but notice the almost...upset and guilty look on his face.

"It was a fight over you."

Silence.

She stared numbly at him. "What?" She was getting dizzy again. She could feel it.

"He killed me," He murmured.

"Who killed you?" Lilly demanded angrily, her voice rising with panic.

"Lucas Matthews."

Silence again.

"He killed me, Lilly," He said softly. "He did this to me."

"No he didn't," She said with a shake of her head, her face pale. She stared up at him, her eyes wide, as if questioning him.

"It was a fight over me, Oliver. If it was a fight over me, then..."

Three things happened at once.

The door flew open behind her.

The ringing in her ears became incredibly loud.

And Lilly suddenly experienced syncope, much to the deception of Oliver's barely startled expression.

Her body fell out of the truck and tumbled onto the ground violently.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**good morning/afternoon/night :D happy independence day!**

**thanks for all the reviews!**

**oh yeah, haha, it's pretty cool that almost all of the reviews for last chapter had the word 'woah' in it.**

**this chapter is short. think of it as...an epilogue of sorts.**

**oh, and there _is_ going to be a sequel ;)**

**enjoy! :)**

_--_

_Only human,  
Made of flesh, made of sand, made of you and me  
The planet's talking about a revolution,  
The natural laws ain't got no constitution  
They've got a right to live their own life,  
But we keep paving over paradise._

--_  
_

Lilly sat up slowly. Her head was pounding but she ignored it and made note that she was sitting in the middle of the road, the truck pulled over maybe thirty feet away.

"Oliver, what happened?" She asked slowly, standing up. Her voice sounded strange somehow, in a way she couldn't place, but she ignored it and went over to where he was standing on the side of the road.

"You fainted," He said blankly. "You fell out of the truck."

She glanced at it. The fact that nothing around them was moving didn't seem to place at first, but when it did, it didn't seem to matter.

"This is so strange," She whispered, looking up at Oliver.

He grinned. "It is," He said quietly, looking around. When he looked back at her, the grin had faded.

"It wasn't your fault."

She seemed to suddenly realize why she had fainted in the first place.

"Yes it was. You just said so yourself."

He shrugged again. "I was wrong to ever think that."

She gave him a look. "So you did think it."

He blinked. "Yes. For a while."

"How long is a while?" She asked, almost suspiciously.

He stared at her for a moment and shook his head. "I never meant to do it," He whispered. "I was upset and I was mad, and you were the one person who I could really _mess_ with..."

She stared at him, confused. "So you...did what exactly?"

"I came to you," He whispered, looking distant.

"Just to mess with me after I had been in that accident?" She asked, her voice low.

He shook his head.

"It was before that," He murmured. "It was before you were even hurt."

"How much before?" She asked him quietly. They were suddenly extremely close together, inches away from each other's face.

"About the time a red SUV swerved in front of you," He whispered.

She stared at him. "Oliver...you..."

"I didn't mean for any of _this_ to happen!" He said. "I just wanted to mess with you, and...I didn't think you would ever be able to see me..."

"But you caused it," She responded, staring at him still. "You made that car pull out in front of me. You made me able to see..." She trailed off, and shook her head, before looking back up at him. "You made me able to see ghosts."

"I'm sorry," He said.

"Don't be," She whispered. "It's not ever something to be sorry ab-"

He cut her off, his lips connecting with hers.

Her eyes widened.

When he withdrew, no one spoke for a few moments.

"Is that really what it's like?" She whispered finally, staring up at him.

"What?"

"To be able to touch you."

His eyes darkened. "Lilly..."

She blinked. "What is it?"

He searched her face for a moment, eyes wavering, then he said softly, "Maybe you should turn around and see for yourself."

She turned around slowly.

"Lilly," Oliver murmured again, almost pitifully.

Her bloodied body was lying on the pavement fifteen feet away.

--

_Murderous crow, hey what you know  
What you reading about, what you hold in your toes  
Is that a twig, are you a dove of peace  
A black dove undercover, with another puzzle piece  
Are you a riddle to solve all along?  
Or am I over thinking thoughts of human after all?_

--


End file.
